The city's community for these cars is so small that it has caused concern among their ranks.

National car culture blog Jalopnik went so far as to say that Houston is being robbed of its stash of the S2000, a car which was hailed in the past month as a modern classic roadster by the site. The site had even dubbed it one of the best cars of the decade in 2009.

Houston Police Department Officer Jim Woods said the cars are a favorite of the street racing crowd, which in his experience, has a few bad apples in the bunch.

"They are a niche car, and have an appeal to those that street race. They will pay top dollar for the motors and transmissions," says Woods. "When they blow up the motor, they will either shell out the cash, or steal it."

These roadsters only hold two people up front, so they aren't exactly family-friendly. They aren't a common item on the streets of Houston, a city which hums with giant SUVs and pick-ups of all shapes and sizes.

The parts are a hot commodity (pardon the pun) on the stolen market. They were low production cars when Honda was still making them. You can still find them at area used lots, though the prices might be steep for a car with such upkeep.

"It has an appeal to the street-racing crowd, and not the basic car stealing crowd," says Woods. The seats for an S2000 can go for $4,000 each.

A user on a local S2K forum explained how his own vehicle was stolen this week out of his apartment parking garage, even providing video. It was towed out by two suspects caught on surveillance camera using a Honda Civic to pull the car out of the parking complex.

According to the forum, it is easier to steal them by towing, since they have special keys with microchips and a wheel lock. Skilled thieves can later work on the locks.